From the Board

Are You an Advocate for AHRD?

Before you answer that question, think about what other professional associations you belong to, and how those associations inform your interest in the field of HRD as a scholar and/or as a practitioner. Similarly, how does the AHRD enhance your perspectives on the topics and the fields that those other organizations represent?

It’s interesting how being a member of multiple organizations allows us to identify the intersections between different fields and provides us the resources needed to conduct inter-disciplinary research. Because there is wide consensus on the multi-disciplinary nature of HRD as a field, other associations are a great resource to draw from to enrich our understanding of any HRD concept or topic. But, in attending other organizations' conferences and applying what we learned from other fields to our research in HRD, do we have an opportunity to advocate for our field to others?

To me, the answer is an obvious YES. Now, what does being an advocate of the AHRD mean? The formal definition of "advocacy” is "the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause” (Merriam-Webster, online). While the act of supporting the Academy’s mission – to lead HRD through research – has relevance for all of us as members of the AHRD, we may have different ways of advocating for this cause.

For instance, some of us may want to actively campaign for the AHRD through sharing information on the different opportunities and member benefits with our colleagues while attending conferences of other associations. Some others may advocate implicitly through discussing how HRD theories and practices have enriched their research and hence, contributed toward advancing knowledge on topics that are significant to both the AHRD and other fields. And, certain others can advocate through seeking collaborations with members of other scholarly and professional associations and submitting joint proposals for symposia, panel discussions, or innovative sessions for our upcoming 2014 AHRD conference, thereby encouraging others to attend our conference.

As you reflect on your role as advocates and the different ways you want to engage in advocating the AHRD’s mission, think about how central OR peripheral the field of HRD is to your scholarly and professional identities? Either way, you can play the role of an advocate. Only the means and approach would vary.

So, start now and identify YOUR method of advocacy. With the upcoming conferences and gatherings of associations that you are members of and you plan to attend in addition to the 2014 AHRD conference, it’s not too early to figure out how you can advocate for the AHRD.

In doing so, you can realize and share new ways of supporting and promoting our communal cause of leading HRD through research!

Rajashi Ghosh, VP, Strategic Relationships

Announcing the 2014 Conference in the Americas

Join us as the Academy presents the 2014 Conference in the Americas from Thursday, February 20 to Saturday, February 22 in Houston, Texas. This year’s conference theme is "Leading the Human Resource Development Field through Research.” The program will be comprised of blind, peer-reviewed submissions of papers, abstracts, and posters, as well as several research panels that bring together senior scholars to discuss their most recent work and thinking. AHRD welcomes submissions from researchers and scholar-practitioners in all academic fields and disciplines that focus on workplace learning, performance, change, and related issues and problems. A full Call for Papers can be found here.

Call for Nominations

Associate Editor, AHRD Conference Proceedings

The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) solicits applications or nominations for the position of Associate Proceedings Editor of the annual AHRD Conference. We are seeking motivated individuals who meet the following qualifications:

Have published in a proceedings for an AHRD affiliated conference (i.e. the AHRD conference in the Americas, the UFHRD conference in Europe, or the AHRD conference in Asia).

Have been a reviewer or Track Chair for an AHRD affiliated conference.

Provide evidence of capability, both technically and administratively:

Technology support to include personal computer access and sufficient email capacity to accommodate a high volume of email traffic and archives.

Graduate Assistant support helpful but not required.

Hold AHRD membership and maintain membership for the duration of the position.

Academic or educational institution affiliation preferred but not required.

This is a three-year position, effective June 2013-May 2016. The first year is spent as the Associate Proceedings Editor for the 2014 Conference Proceedings of the AHRD International Annual Conference in the Americas, the second year is spent as Proceedings Editor for the 2015 Conference Proceedings, and the third year is spent as the Program Chair for the 2016 Conference.

Applications or nominations, in the form of a CV and a cover letter, should be sent to the AHRD Office atoffice@ahrd.org by May 20, 2013.

Selection of the Editor will be made by a sub-committee of the Board of Directors and the current Proceedings Editor, Dr. Diane Chapman, and Program Chair, Dr. Julie Gedro.

Announcing the AHRD Foundation Capital Campagin

Dear AHRD Colleagues,

The Academy of Human Resource Development Foundation Board is happy to announce that we have launched a capital campaign to re-establish our competitive grants awards for research in human resource development. Our goal for this first year of the campaign is to generate at least $15,000.

To be able to provide small grants to support research in our unique academic area, we need you to donate whatever you can, as often as you can.

There are very few grant opportunities for scholars in human resource development. New faculty members face enormous pressure to generate research funding annually—and doctoral students find little to no support for their dissertation research in HRD. We know even a small grant can make the difference between an ordinary and an extraordinary research study. It is the difference between mailing a survey locally versus mailing it nationally; between interviews by phone or Skype versus in-person, in-depth interviews.

Technically Speaking

Using Prezi to Collaborate on Presentations

Tekeisha Zimmerman, Virtual HRD SIG Member

Throughout many of our academic and professional careers, there have been times when collaborating on a presentation was necessary. Introduced in 2009, Prezi offers an interactive way to create, view and collaborate on presentations in a virtual environment. Prezi is a cloud-based (internet) presentation software and storytelling tool for presenting ideas on a virtual canvas. It can be accessed at http://prezi.com/. Prezi utilizes a zooming technique, which allows users to pan, zoom, size, or rotate objects during the creation and viewing of presentations. This feature can take some getting used to — especially when viewing and creating presentations. Prezi is similar to PowerPoint and contains all of the same functionality. Basic text, videos, audio and images can all be inserted easily. Presentations are saved on the Prezi cloud, which allows the user to log-in to view and edit presentations from almost anywhere. The software is compatible on iPads and offers a free app for the iPhone.

In addition to the novel approach to presentation creation, Prezi also offers a meeting tool called Prezi Meeting. Prezi Meeting is an online collaboration feature that allows up to 10 collaborators to co-edit and show their presentations in real time across time zones. Users can participate synchronously, and each is visually represented in the presentation window by a small avatar. Up to 30 additional attendees can be invited to the collaboration session; however, only 10 can act as co-editors during the session. For those who may be unable to attend the collaboration session, a link can be shared. This link is only available for 10 days but allows for unlimited editing during that time. Prezi Meeting is an effective way to collaborate, brainstorm and edit synchronously or asynchronously.

To use Prezi, an account is required. Account creation is free, and the free account gives the user 100 MB of space to create and house content in the cloud. Prezi meeting is included in the free account option. For those who may be looking for more storage or different features, Prezi offers upgraded accounts ranging from $4.92 to $13.25 per month billed annually. For information on pricing options, see prezi.com/pricing

Prezi and Prezi Meeting are very useful for presentation creation and collaboration within virtual workgroups, and for working real-time on presentations for key events such as conference presentations, SIG meeting agendas, and work assignments. The tool is being hailed as one that is reinventing the art of presentation because it allows for two-way dialogue. Anyone interested in inter-connection and flexibility during the presentation creation process is encouraged to explore this software.

Member Spotlight

Dr. Cynthia Sims is this month’s spotlight member. She is an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, in the Department of Workforce Education and Development. Cynthia’s research centers on understanding and addressing issues of workplace power, privilege, and diversity; and the workplace politics of colorism (domestic and international). Currently she is on a 1-year sabbatical. She is taking this opportunity to explore the impact of intraracial colorism on the career goals, career education, and employment opportunities of women abroad, with research trips to Taiwan, Peru, and Mexico.

Cynthia has been an AHRD member for 10 years and joined as a doctoral student in 2003. She joined the Academy because it was an organization that would embrace her research, provide opportunities for learning about linkages with others' research interests, and provide networking with the leading scholars of the HRD field. As a member, Cynthia has served asa conference proceedings reviewer, conference presenter, member/steering committee member of the newly-named Workforce Diversity and Inclusion SIG (previously the Cultural Diversity SIG), and was the 2013 Conference in the Americas photographer.

When asked about a memorable moment from her time with AHRD, Cynthia described the following, "Actually, my most memorable moment has been a recurrent one, where my doctoral chair and past AHRD president, Dr. Gene Roth, introduced me to all of his friends and colleagues at the AHRD conferences. I am sure that those same people each year would say to themselves, 'I know Cynthia already, Gene. You have been introducing her to us for several years.' It is still nice, however, to be referred to as one of his favorite students after all of these years.”

In a final note, Cynthia has a number of books on her summer reading list. Currently she is enjoyingThe Nine Fantasies That Will Ruin Your Life (and the eight realities that will save you) by Dr. Joy Browne. Additionally, she is looking forward to The Meanings of Dress by Kimberly Miller-Spillman, Andrew Reilly, and Patricia Hunt-Hurst because there is a chapter about skin bleaching and colorism that has particular relevance to her research.

News and Notes

Do you have any interesting and innovative research to share on any topic related to HRD in India or cross comparative HRD studies that includes India?

If the answer is "yes," then the India HRD SIG asks you to submit your idea for consideration as part of an Innovative Session on HRD in India. If your idea is selected, we will ask you to take part as a co-presenter/facilitator in our panel workshop that we are submitting for consideration at the 2014 AHRD conference.

What we need from you:

A brief (200-300 word) abstract of the research paper/work you’d like to share.

New Student Member Webpage

Please help share the good work of the Academy and the benefit of membership to students at your university. AHRD’s website has a new page dedicated to answering the questions of students interested in membership and becoming involved in AHRD. Check it out from a link on